The Dragons of Alvarez
by ChaosofTime
Summary: When Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy wake up after their return from Edolus, they are surprised to find that they are in a country called Alvarez. What plans does the emperor have for them, and what will Fiore do in their absence? This story will contain a little romance, but not a whole lot. Where it does appear, it will be NaWen centered.
1. Where are We?

Dragon's of Alvarez

Chapter 1

Where are we?

 **If I owned Fairy Tail, it would have magic...Oh wait it does.**

"Panther-lily sir! There are people acting violently near the castle. They are destroying one neighborhood after another..." An Edolas palace guard screamed, while running into the room housing the Anima.

"It looks like the panic is worse than I expected...We must do something quickly" The blue haired man said quietly, while turning towards the guard. "How many of the vigilantes are there?"

"Uh...three. Who are you exactly?" The skeptical guard had never seen him, yet he was in the of limits palace room.

Panther-lily looked at the guard. "If there are only three of them, then why haven't you taken care of it yet?" He screamed. The poor guard cowered a little.

"Th-Their s-s-super s-s-strong s-s-sir." He glanced down looking slightly ashamed.

"I guess that I must take care of them myself." The blue haired man said while running out of the chamber.

"HAHAHA! I am the great demon lord Dragneel! I am the one who has taken all you magic power, and defeated your weakling of a king. HAHAHA!" The deranged fire dragon slayer screamed while laughing maniacally from the roof of the building.

Down below him on the streets, Gajeel and Wendy were both scaring-and failing (in regards to the blue haired girl)-the citizens of the Royal City.

"I swear, that punk is having way too much fun up there. Why couldn't I be the one to do that?" Gajeel commented bluntly.

"It is because you are my servant!" was the reply from above.

"WOULD YOU CUT THE SERVANT CRAP!" He yelled, while comically turning his head 180 degrees.

"Shut up _slave_!"

"*sigh*. I guess I should've been more specific." the iron dragon slayer muttered, causing Wendy to giggle nearby.

Meanwhile, the crowd was bubbling with anger. "So they're the ones who're stealing Edolas' magic power!" "Yeah! It's the great demon lord Dragneel!" "We will never forgive you!" "Return us our magic power!" "Fix my shower lacrima!"

"I will burn all who oppose me!" Natsu yelled, and then shot fire out of his mouth, causing a great number of screams from below.

"NATSU! STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!" The voice belonged to Mistogan, who was standing on the castle balcony.

Natsu turned towards him "I am the demon lord Dragneel. I wonder if the measly prince of Edolas can stop me."

This statement caused lots of disruption among the crowd. It was increased even more, when Edolas' Gajeel screamed "Prince Jellal is back!".

"Natsu don't move from that spot!" Jellal shouted, before diving off the balcony towards him.

"I am the great demon lord Dragneel." he stated bluntly with a sinister grin on his face.

'I know why you doing this, but it won't help to regain control.' "Sleep!" Jellal shouted, while pushing his staff out in front of him. Nothing happened, causing the prince to realize what had happened. The anima had taken his magic as well!

Natsu just laughed. "It seems that you don't have any magic power, which is a shame...BECAUSE I GOT PLENTY!" He slammed a fire coated fist onto the building he was standing on, causing it to be engulfed in flames. The citizens screamed, as debris went flying.

"Natsu you are over doing it!" Wendy yelled.

"No, he is not. The stronger the villain's magic seems, than the more powerful the hero seems, when he wins without using any magic at all." Gajeel said with a little grin on his face.

"That's enough Natsu. I cannot be the hero here. And you playing dead won't work on this mob." Jellal said.

Natsu ignored him, instead rushing forward to punch him in the face.

"You can't think that you could fool any of them." Jellal said while throwing a punch at the demon lord. Natsu caught the punch, only to be hit in the face by a solid roundabout kick, causing the crowd to erupt into cheering.

After a few more punches were exchanged, Natsu got right up next to Jellal, before whispering in his ear. "This is my way of doing the Fairy Tail farewell ceremony. And since you will be staying here, you must be taught the three laws."

Natsu hit him with an uppercut. "First, you must never for the rest of your life, reveal sensitive information, or tactics that could handicap Fairy Tail." This was followed by a punch landing directly in the center of Natsu's face. "What was the second one again?"

Jellal gave a smile before delivering multiple blows to Natsu. "You must never contact any past clients for your own personal gain."

"Yeah that's it. And third...Though our paths may have diverged you must continue to live out your life with all your might. You must never consider your life to be of little value. And you must never forget about your friends who loved you," The two punched each other. "You got it?"

The two grinned at each other, before Natsu fell backwards, defeated. Suddenly, a golden light enveloped the fire dragon slayer. The same light began shining from the two dragonslayers behind him as well. Throughout the crowd, the same golden shined from all of the Earthland wizards, and exceeds. Jellal looked at it in surprise.

'I would have never thought that the anima would purge those with internal magic, along with the magic itself.' He thought, while looking into the sky. The dragonslayers began floating into the sky, joining the streams of pure magic energy.

"Goodbye everyone! I will see you later" Yelled a floating Happy. Charle scowled beside him. "We are never going to return here, tomcat."

Happy suddenly started crying, "I will miss you!" he cried, as tears streamed down his face.

Happy, Charle, and the rest of the exceeds joined the Earthland wizards in there skyward flight.

The sky was filled with a golden light. White rings appeared before closing concentrically towards a spot in the sky. The humans and exceeds flew into the hole, before it vanished without a trace from the sky.

* * *

 _On the outskirts of Magnolia_

A group of people and exceeds fell from the sky, and plopped down on the ground.

"Ouch that hurt" Lucy exclaimed while rubbing her backside.

Erza stood up before taking her bearings. "Not only have we returned to Earthland, but Magnolia seems to be in one piece. And the exceeds seem to have arrived with us."

The group of Fairy Tail wizards' relief was broken when Charle shouted, "We don't have time for this nonsense. Where is Wendy?!"

"Now that you mention it, Natsu and Gajeel aren't here either" Lucy stated with a concerned look on her face.

"We must find them. Lucy and Gray return to the guildhall. The Master must be informed of this entire incident. In the mean time, Happy you will come with me and look for them." After Lucy and Gray took off into Magnolia, Erza turned towards the group of Exceeds that were gathered around their queen.

"I apologize, but we must go and look for our missing friends." Queen Shagot looked at Erza before offering to assist in the search. Soon after, the sky was filled with flying cats, all in search of the dragon slayers that had saved them in Edolas.

They searched to no avail, as after an hour of the search, there hadn't been a trace of them anywhere. Erza reluctantly gave up on the search and bid the Exceeds goodbye before heading back to the guild. With her trailed a black Exceed who wanted to join the guild, and Happy who seemed depressed due to Natsu's absence.

"Did you find them?" Lucy asked while standing up from a stool at the bar. She sat back down with a frown when Erza shook her head.

"Master, I was unable to find Natsu, Gajeel, or Wendy. For now, it seems they are missing." She said, causing the Master to frown.

"That is troubling, though I guess the only thing we can do about it is to send word around to the other guilds. I would inform the council, but they would probably rejoice in the fact that one of our most destructive members is missing." Makarov said in reply.

"Listen up brats!" he announced to the members of the guild who were present. "It appears that Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy have all gone missing. As some of you may have heard, this city had been taken to a place called Edolas. The city was returned, but the dragon slayers did not come with it."

At that various whispers, and some outbursts, were heard throughout the crowd. "Master so what are we supposed to do?" asked Levy as she thought of the iron dragon slayer.

"I am afraid that the only thing we can do is look. We can also spread the word to other guilds. When you go on jobs, ask around for any information on them." Master Makarov said as he spoke to the guild.

After he finished speaking, he turned and sat down at the bar.

"Dear Mavis, we can only pray that they will return safely to us." He muttered to himself before picking up his drink.

* * *

 _Somewhere unknown_

Three sounds were heard as three individuals hit the ground. "Get the hell off me Salamander." Spoke Gajeel as he shoved the pink haired dragon slayer off of him and right onto Wendy. "Eek!" She shrieked as Natsu landed on her. She pushed him before scooting backwards, a small tint of red on her face.

"What happened?" Natsu asked as he stood up, looking around.

"We were in Edolas ya idiot." Gajeel said as he looked around. "Where the heck is my cat!"

"Speaking of that, where is Magnolia and the rest of the guild?" Wendy asked as she too took a look at her surroundings.

The three dragon slayers were in an open expanse of land. There was little grass, and that which did exist was found in small patches. Scattered around the landscape were a type of tree that the mages had never seen before. It had a fat center, with a bush like top, making it resemble broccoli. The ground itself was relatively flat, though pieces of rock jutted forth in various places.

As Natsu turned around, he spotted a cabin about a half a mile in a direction. "Look over there! Maybe someone lives there, and can give me something to eat!" He said before running towards the cabin.

"Hey ya flame head get back here." ' _At least Gajeel thinks_ ' Wendy thought to herself. "If anyone's gonna get food its gonna be me!" Gajeel finished.

"Or not..." Wendy muttered before following them. At least they could ask where they were.

A few minutes later, Wendy reached the cabin to find Natsu and Gajeel arguing out front.

She sweat dropped at the scene, before butting between the two. "Maybe we should just knock." She said, snapping them from their confrontation. "Good idea Wendy," Natsu said before walking up to the door and moving to knock.

Before his hand could reach the door, it opened to show a dark room. A second after, the room lit up revealing an old man in a black and gold cloak sitting in a chair opposite the door. "Come on inside he said as he beckoned them forward."

Whether they wanted to or not, as a force was applied at their backs pushing them in, they entered. "What the heck, who are you?" Natsu said as he ignited his fist and glared at the guy.

The flame in Natsu's hand went out suddenly, causing his jaw to drop. "What did you do to my magic?" He asked.

The man in the chair stood up and began to speak. "Hello Natsu Dragneel, Wendy Marvell, and Gajeel Redfox of Fairy Tail. My name is August, and I am the right hand of my Emperor Spriggan. You are in the country of Alvarez, and at the behest of the emperor, I summoned the three of you here."

"What do you want with us?" Gajeel asked the man.

"With you, not much. The emperor desires to speak with young Dragneel here. But it was simpler to pull the three of you here as you were exciting the anima portal, then it would have been to try and target Natsu here specifically. Now that you are here, I think that we should be going."

Natsu growled. "Why should we go with you? I don't even know who this emperor guy you're talking about even is!" He shouted out at the man named August.

"Yeah, Natsu's right," spoke up Wendy. "What right do you have to bring us here without permission, then demand that we follow you?"

August looked slightly irritated. Before any of the dragon slayers could speak, he spoke again. "I was hoping to do this the easy way, but I guess you leave me no choice."

He raised his hands and muttered a spell. A second later the three Fairy Tail mages hit the ground asleep.

"Children...Always so naive." He muttered before casting another spell causing the four individuals to vanish from the little cabin.

* * *

On an island in the middle of the ocean stood a large tree. Upon this island a black haired man was laying in the grass. He wore a black coat, rimmed in gold, that had a raised collar. Around his neck there was a necklace with a circular pendant hanging down towards his chest. Wrapped around his body from a shoulder, was a white piece of cloth. He was positioned so that his hair hung over his eyes, and seemed to be asleep.

As the man began moving, his hair shifted revealing black eyes.

"It would appear that August has set my plan in motion." He said with a smile.

"Natsu...I will see you again soon."

 **A/N: Yay! This chapter is posted...what no one? Anyway, thank you for reading the first chapter of Dragon's of Alvarez. I know that it may be boring, or choppy so forgive me. I had to get that out of the way so I could move onto the cool stuff. Anyways, what do you think of the idea? Yes, no, maybe so? I would appreciate it if you would let me know with a good old review. As for this story, I will be writing it at the same time as Chaos of Time (You should check it out), but I will try and update both on a regular basis.**

 **By the way, anyone feel like writing a collaborative story?**

 **Please Review, Follow, and Favorite**

 **My time has run out**

 **-Chaos of Time**


	2. He's a What?

The Dragons of Alvarez

Chapter 2

He's a What?

 **A/N: Thank you all for reading. I do not own Fairy Tail.**

* * *

Natsu woke up and found himself laying in a bed. After looking around, he was sure that he had no idea where he was. Smelling the air left him just as lost. He couldn't smell anything remotely familiar.

As Natsu stood up and caught a sight of himself in a mirror. Surprisingly, he was in nothing but his underwear. "What the heck?" He muttered, as he glanced around again.

The room he was in was quite large and lavishly decorated. At one end of the room was a large window overlooking a well kept hedge garden. The bed was to the right of the window, and had a large desk on one side, and a wardrobe on the other. Next to the wardrobe stood a full body mirror, which he had looked into previously.

Walking into the middle of the room he caught sight of the door. And on a table next to the doors, in a neat folded pile, were his clothes.

Natsu picked up his clothes and put them on.

The pink haired slayer then opened the door and walked out of the room, and was met with the sight of a large room.

It was empty for the most part, minus the marble columns that shot towards the ceiling.

The walls were made of consecutive arches, and a long red carpet that traversed the center of the room from Natsu's left to his right.

On his far left the carpet met with a large pair of doors that Natsu assumed was the entrance.

The wall at the entrance had a lot of windows in it, and through them he could see a little bit of the outside.

On the other end of the rug there was a large staircase that bent off into different directions.

"What is this place?" Natsu voiced his question as he looked around the room. Of course there was no one there to answer him.

Deciding to explore a little bit, Natsu walked down the carpet and walked up the stairs. At the split he took the right side turn and found himself in another hallway, though this one had a lot more in it than the previous one.

For one, it had a lot more doors than the last one. Poking his head into the doors, he was met with a whole lot of nothing.

At the end of the hallway he found himself in another split. One after another Natsu wandered the hallways before he decided that he was thoroughly lost.

And he still hadn't come across another human being. Natsu could feel anger come over him.

"Where the heck am I!" He yelled as he ignited his fist and punched a column, cracking it and leaving a burn mark.

Unsurprisingly, he got no reply.

After what felt like forever, Natsu came across another staircase, this one bringing him father up in the labyrinth.

Expecting more hallways, Natsu was surprised to find himself on the roof of a portion of the building. Looking behind him, he was able to see that the building continued up even farther.

Walking away from the stairs, he almost leapt for joy when he saw another human standing on the edge of the roof.

"Hey you! Where the heck am I?!" Natsu questioned as he shouted at the person.

The person turned towards his voice, and Natsu saw that it was a man. A really old man.

The man was wearing a white tunic-like piece of clothing, with a belt like rope wrapped around his waist. Over his shoulders he wore a mantle that was clasped together with a piece of jewelry. The clasp was an oval green stone set in gold.

On his back, there was a black cloak with a strange black symbol on it. At the top of the cape, and reaching above the man's head, the fabric was shaped like spikes.

In his hand there was a large wooden staff with a big purple jewel, resembling an egg, embedded into the wood at the top.

After seeing the man, Natsu remembered what had happened.

They had been pulled out of Edolas to wherever this was. But why was he here, and where were Wendy and Gajeel?

Natsu was pulled out of his thoughts as the man spoke and said something completely unexpected.

"Good morning your majesty, I trust you slept well?"

 _Your majesty_? What was going on?

* * *

The mood in Fairy Tail could only be described as somber.

It had been a week since the city had been restored from its state as a lacrima in Edolas.

It had also been a week since the dragon slayers had been found missing.

The guild members had suspended most missions in order to look for them. So far, nothing had been found and some members were starting to lose faith. Others, like a certain blond haired mage, needed money so they gave up the search to go on jobs.

Those that did go on jobs still aided in the search by asking around the places they went to.

"I have heard back from Jura, and it seems that Lamia Scale hasn't seen them either." The master of the guild said, looking dejected. The master had sent word to the allies of the guild, and with the response from Lamia Scale if was learned that none of them knew anything.

The guild was silent as they frowned at the news.

"Master, what should we do?" Erza asked looking at him. The old man looked at her in silence for a minute before he spoke.

"We should stop the search for them." He said finally.

The guild didn't like the news and erupted into chaos.

"We can't just forget about them!" Erza said in a voice that was little less than a shout.

"Be quiet!" The master yelled out as he slammed a giant hand against a table, crushing it.

"I cannot ignore the fact that my children have gone missing, but right now searching for them is doing more hurt than help. Jobs are not getting done, and it is having a negative impact on the guild. I won't tell you to forget them, but I am telling you that you need to act like a mage and do your job, rather than moping around." The master said.

Of course the chaos returned, but it wasn't as bad as it had been previously. Makarov took the opportunity to sit down next to Gildarts and have a drink.

"Was calling off the search the best idea?" the orange haired man asked causing the master to sigh.

"Whether for better or for worse, it needed to be done. The S-class trials are in two months and they need to be focused on improving themselves. If they spend all their time looking, I doubt improvement will be made."

Gildarts nodded at the logic before taking a long drink of his booze. "Yeah that makes since. I just wish Natsu could be here for the trials this year. I know how long he's been waiting to get the chance."

The two sat in silence for a while before the doors to the guild burst open and in flew a blue cat followed by a young woman.

"Look who I found!" Happy screamed out and everyone who turned to look froze in shock.

There, standing in the doorway, was Lisanna.

* * *

"Where are my friends? And why the heck did you call me your majesty?" Natsu asked in rapid succession towards the man called August.

"Oh it seems his majesty was correct in saying that you were unaware. Seeing as you know nothing, I will start by saying that you are the younger brother of the Emperor, and thus of royal decent. As for your comrades, they are currently unharmed." The old man spoke as he looked at the pink haired boy.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I don't have a brother or any other siblings. Igneel raised me when I was a kid." Natsu said, confused by what the man was saying.

"As I said, you are unaware of the circumstances. You are the younger brother of our Emperor Spriggan, though you may recognize him by the less known name of Emperor Dragneel. In no uncertain terms, you are the prince of Alvarez, and this is the palace." August said.

"Cut the crap! I don't know what you're trying to pull, but I'm not buying it. Tell me where my friends are so we can go back to Fairy Tail!" Natsu shouted as he ran at August his fist ablaze.

August didn't even flinch as Natsu approached, instead just staring at him with what may have been annoyance.

As Natsu prepared to swing his fist he froze, or more accurately his body did. The fire on his fist disappeared as well, much like in their previous encounter.

"I am afraid that I cannot allow you to leave the country. His highness gave specific orders to have you remain here until he returns to the country." August said before sighing and speaking again. "I will bring you to your comrades if you wish."

August began walking towards the stairs, and Natsu felt his body being unfrozen.

Natsu growled at the retreated man, before settling with just a frown as he began following the man through the labyrinth halls of the palace to wherever his friends were at.

* * *

Gajeel woke up to his stomach grumbling. He sat up and opened his eyes and found himself in an unfamiliar place.

It appeared to be a normal room, though for Gajeel a normal room didn't have a blue haired girl sleeping in a second bed on the other side of the room.

Feeling awkward in the situation he walked over and shook her shoulder.

"W-What's wrong Carla?" Wendy said as she sat up and rubbed her eyes. When she did open then she jumped a little. "Oh I'm sorry Gajeel...What are you doing in my room!" She squealed.

"Kid be quiet, this isn't your room. To be honest I don't know where we are." he said as he rolled his eyes.

"Oh I'm sorry Gajeel, I didn't realize. Where is Natsu?" Wendy asked.

"Salamander? I don't know, that guy knocked us out and I woke up here. And stop saying sorry!" He shouted the last part.

"S-Sor...Okay." She yelped out.

"Whatever, I'm hungry, so I'm going to go and look around for some food." Gajeel said before walking over to a door.

Opening the door, he was met with the sight of a man standing across the hall reading a book.

The man had white hair, glasses, and a long white trench coat. Around his waist a rope was tied acting as a belt of sorts. The man also had a cold smell about him.

"Who the hell are you?" Gajeel questioned the man.

"So you are awake." He said as he closed the book in his hand and put his arms behind his back. "Return to your room." He said.

Gajeel growled at the order. "And why should I do that? I'm hungry, and don't know where I am, so I'd suggest that you let me by." Gajeel said as he turned his arm to metal and glared at him.

"If you want food there is some in the cabinets in the back of you room. Now turn around and go back inside." The man said in a non-casual voice.

Gajeel didn't know who this guy thought he was, but he was starting to piss him off.

"Get out of my way!" Gajeel growled as he slammed his iron club forward towards the man's face. The man moved his head, and the club impacted the wall behind him.

As Gajeel went to pull his morphed hand back, he found that he couldn't. Looking for the problem, he noticed that his club was stuck to the wall, or more accurately frozen.

"What the hell?" Gajeel shouted at the man who was yet to move, minus to dodge the punch.

"Invel, I think that that is enough, unfreeze him." Said another voice from down the hall. Gajeel turned his head toward the sound and saw two figures. One was the old-man who had knocked them out, and the second was...

"Natsu?" Wendy's voice spoke up from behind him.

"Salamander what is going on here?" Gajeel growled as he pulled back his unfrozen hand.

Before Natsu could respond, the man named Invel spoke up. "August, Your Highness." He said as he nodded towards August and bowed his head towards Natsu, concealing a frown.

"Your highness? What the hell is he talking about Salamander?" Gajeel demanded, with a shocked expression on his face. One shared by the sky dragon slayer beside him.

"Um, hey Wendy, hey Gajeel." Natsu said.

* * *

 **A/N: Okay I am going to end it here. First thing, thank you to all of you who have shown your support for this story. 45 Followers and 10 reviews on the first chapter? It means a lot.**

 **Secondly, I am planning on having a chapter for this story posted at least once a week. I plan to have a Chaos of Time chapter posted by Friday, and one for this story posted by the following Monday. If more than one for a single story arrive in one week, be happy.**

 **Third, without anime episodes to go off of, all settings will be created by me, unless they are depicted in the manga. As for the Spriggan 12, I am getting descriptions from the Wiki.**

 **Please F/F and Review,**

 **-Chaos of Time**


	3. The Test

The Dragons of Alvarez

Chapter 3

The Test

 **A/N: Thank you guys, it seems like you are looking forward to this story. I am talking about all you other Fairy Tail non-owners.**

* * *

"Um, hey Wendy, hey Gajeel." Natsu said. He put a hand in the air and gave grinned for a moment, before dropping his arm. "How've you been?"

"Cut that crap, why did he just talk to you like you're royalty?" Gajeel demanded with a frown on his face.

Natsu didn't know how to phrase an answer. Tell them that these people thought he was related to their ruler? Fortunately for Natsu, he was saved from responding as August interjected himself.

"Natsu Dragneel is the younger brother of his highness the emperor. The two of you are alive at the prince's behest." August said, with a perfectly straight face, as he spoke to the two other dragon slayers.

"But Natsu doesn't have a brother. He was raised by Igneel, similar to Gajeel and I." Wendy spoke up, seemingly having ignored the part about not being dead.

"Believe what you wish to be true or not, the fact that they are siblings doesn't change." The ice wizard said with a minor eye roll.

"Invel, there is no need to talk like that. I believe that talk would be more appropriate over a meal." August said, after hearing the growl coming from each slayer's stomach. "If you would follow me, I will lead you to the dining room."

"Food!" Shouted both of the older dragon slayers, immediately falling in step with the older man. Wendy followed after them, with Invel following behind.

Natsu, after wandering the halls for much of the morning, didn't pay much attention to their surroundings.

Unlike their comrade, Gajeel and Wendy were marveling at the beauty of the palace. Everything was furnished, and shining. After a few minutes, the group came to a pair of double doors.

Once the doors opened, smells flooded their noses, and all three of their jaws dropped.

The room was enormous, and most of it was used to host a table, that stretched down the room quite a ways. The table had various ornaments, such as candlesticks, spaced out throughout the center.

Filling up the rest of the table, were trays full of food.

Without hesitation, the three dragonslayers dug into the food, though Wendy was eating much more modestly.

Before much food could make it down their throats, each of them felt their bodies freeze. "What the hell!" Natsu shouted, staring at a piece of meat a few inches from his mouth.

"It seems that proper eating etiquette is unknown to you." August said, as he took a seat across from the three.

Natsu and Gajeel both rolled their eyes, having never really cared about how they ate. Wendy on the other hand, had a tinge of pink on her cheeks. She had had 'proper etiquette', but after joining Fairy Tail she had strayed from it.

"Who cares about how I eat! Unfreeze me so I can stuff myself!" Natsu shouted, causing August to sigh.

"Whether you choose to accept it or not, you are royalty, and it is my obligation to have you act like it. Now, if you wish to eat, you will learn to eat like a prince." August said, addressing Natsu.

"How the heck is that fair! Why should I have to eat normal, I ain't royalty." Gajeel shouted out.

"How will the prince learn to eat normally, if you are sitting next to him inhaling food?" August asked, a slight smirk on his face.

"Fine, I'll eat normally, just let me go. And stop calling me prince! Just call me Natsu." Natsu said after a few tense moments of silence.

"That is fine. I will release you, but I will be watching. From now on, if you break etiquette, I will freeze you again." August said, as he continued to eat.

The three were unfrozen, and hell began.

August sat on the opposite side of them, watching in amusement as the two older boys struggled. The blue haired one got the hang of it, and finished eating quite quickly.

The man, Gajeel he presumed, and Natsu were having a much more difficult time of it. It seemed that Gajeel kept on biting pieces of his fork with every bite.

Natsu was in a similar predicament, and August couldn't help but feel a slight tinge of irritation. Emperor Spriggan had asked him to develop mannerisms, but from what he could see, that would be difficult. It seemed that the boy didn't have anything to develop to begin with.

August sighed and focused on the task at hand. Each time one of them tried to touch food with a hand, he would stop them. Every time they did...well anything, he stopped them.

The whole ordeal was tiring, but after an hour, he felt that the two boys were adept enough for that day, and ended the meal.

August sent Invel off to take the three to their rooms. He had chosen new rooms for Natsu's comrades closer to where the prince had stayed the night before.

As everyone left the room, August put a finger to his temple beginning a telepathic communication.

 _'Your highness,'_

 _'Ah August, how are things going there?'_

 _'It is tedious, but your will be done.'_

 _'Thank you August. How is Natsu?'_

 _'Not to be offensive, but I think that he isn't very intelligent.'_

 _'No offense, I guess it was to be expected seeing as he grew up in Fairy Tail. Here in Ishgar, the guild gets its reputation from its destruction. I assume you tried something?'_

 _'I had him work on his table manners today, though it took him over an hour to get how to use a fork.'_

 _'That sounds like a disaster, but nothing that you can't fix with time. August had you tested his magic power?'_

 _'Nothing big, but from what I have seen he has a large amount of raw magic, but lacks much of the control needed to use it.'_

 _'That is unfortunate, but I think you know what to do.'_

 _'Of course. May I ask when you intend to return?'_

 _'I do not intend to be away any longer than a month. Within that time, the plan will be set in motion. Good bye August.'_

August pulled his finger away from his head and sighed. If things progressed as slowly as they had today, then it would be a long month. As he thought about what to do, he had a thought cross his mind and stood up before leaving the room.

* * *

The next morning came and went without much incident. August had woken them up in the morning, and invited them to breakfast. Of course, that meant more practice eating.

After the chaos that came with the meal, August gave them a general tour of the palace that lasted much of the morning. After hours of monotonous hallways, which Natsu payed little attention to, they came to a large courtyard somewhere near the back of the palace.

"So we have arrived at last." August said, as he entered the yard. He then turned to Invel, who had followed them for the morning. "Invel, would you mind taking our guests to find more appropriate clothing? I would like to speak with Natsu in private."

"I don't need clothes! Mine are fine as they are." Grumbled Gajeel as Invel herded him and Wendy back into the hallways. After they had left, August turned towards Natsu before speaking.

"The emperor has asked me to judge your strength. As such, I would like run a test." He started, as he walked to the center of the court yard.

"I will stand here in the center of the yard. Your test will be to try and get me to move. If my feet slide even an inch, you will pass my test. Be warned, that if you fail, you will stay here in Alvarez, and obey his majesty." August said, earning a slight growl from Natsu.

"And what do I get if I pass this test?" Natsu questioned.

August smiled and gave his answer. "If you pass, I will return you and your friends to Fairy Tail and the empire will never bother you again."

Natsu cracked his knuckles, before igniting his fists, and grinning. "Then I'll just have to beat you then."

With that, Natsu sprung forward and threw a punch at the older man.

August blocked the fist with an open hand. When the flesh came in contact, an explosion shot from August's palm, blasting Natsu back into a column that promptly collapsed on him.

Natsu pulled himself from the rubble and spat a piece of marble from his mouth. "What was that!" He exclaimed, earning no response.

A tick mark appeared on Natsu's head at being ignored, and he slammed a foot on the ground before leaning back and taking a deep breath.

" **Fire Dragon's Roar**!" Natsu bellowed as hot flames flew from his mouth towards the standing man.

The flames engulfed the man for a moment, though in the the next the flames bent in an unnatural way. All the fire formed into a ball, revealing August with a hand raised, the ball of flames resting in his palm.

"Is that all that you have Natsu? I never expected that the emperor's brother would be weak." August said taunting him.

"You shut up, I'm not weak!" Natsu shouted, his temper and magic flaring. August grinning as he felt the spike in magic power. As much as he didn't want to do it, dragon slayer magic had a habit of tying to emotions. In order to get the most out of the test, he wanted him to be angry.

Natsu ignited both of his fists before increasing the size of the flames in each hand. When each hand held a ball of fire the size of a watermelon, Natsu slammed his hands together, a large flame being born.

" **Fire Dragon's Brilliant** **Flame**!" He exclaimed as he raised the spell above his heads before throwing it towards August.

As the ball of flame magic approached August, he held out the hand that contained the fire from before, condensing the new fire as well.

Natsu stared slightly dumbstruck as he watched one of his powerful spells being absorbed that easily.

"How are you controlling my fire! You aren't a dragon slayer are you?" Natsu questioned, to which August just chuckled.

"No I am not a dragon slayer, but when you are in tune with magic, you can do anything. Natsu Dragneel, you have potential but it has gone without proper nourishment. Now," He continued as the fire in his hand shrank away to nothing, "it seems that you have failed the test."

Natsu looked none to pleased with that statement and was about to try and attack again when August spoke again.

"I will see you in this courtyard tomorrow morning before breakfast. Your training begins then." August said.

"My what?!" Natsu exclaimed in bewilderment, not sure he had heard correctly.

"Your training of course. I look forward to it." The old man said, with an almost genuine smile on his face.

* * *

 **A/N: Hello readers of this story. 72 Followers, 44 Favorites, and 19 reviews...In two chapters, Thank You! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. Personally, I wasn't too fond of this chapter, and I felt that it was rushed. I guess I just wanted to get this out of the way, so I could do the month skip to the trials. After that, the real story will begin.**

 **If you are not up to date with the manga, I am about to talk mildly about it, so don't read if you don't want spoilers. Though I don't know why you would read this story then, since all the information comes from the manga...**

 **Either way, Chapter 526 revealed some pretty important information, about a couple of the Spriggan 12. That puts a minor damper on one of my plans, but whatever. I was so confused, as I didn't know how to implement Larcade, because I didn't know his age. With 525, I was so confused, but 526 did a little to fix it...while also confusing me more.**

 **Anyway, I apologize if the chapter sucks, especially that fight scene...was probably garbage...**

 **I am going to sleep. Daylight savings messed me up.**

 **-Chaos of Time**


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